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Lots of eyes shine on St. Patrick's Day Parade

Michael P. Mayko| on
March 17, 2015

Ten-year-old Tieno Cotto, points to The Cycling Murrays as they pass her and her classmates from Hall School on their mix of bikes and unicycles on Main Street in Bridgeport Tuesday, Mar. 17, 2015 during the 33rd Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade less

Ten-year-old Tieno Cotto, points to The Cycling Murrays as they pass her and her classmates from Hall School on their mix of bikes and unicycles on Main Street in Bridgeport Tuesday, Mar. 17, 2015 during the ... more

Ten-year-old Tieno Cotto, points to The Cycling Murrays as they pass her and her classmates from Hall School on their mix of bikes and unicycles on Main Street in Bridgeport Tuesday, Mar. 17, 2015 during the 33rd Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade less

Ten-year-old Tieno Cotto, points to The Cycling Murrays as they pass her and her classmates from Hall School on their mix of bikes and unicycles on Main Street in Bridgeport Tuesday, Mar. 17, 2015 during the ... more

Participants included the Trumbull High School Band and Milford's Lauralton Hall Music Department. Marchers from Ansonia's Assumption School followed fire trucks from that city's Charter and Webster Hose companies. The Cycling Murrays from Massachusetts made its 15th appearance.

"This is our biggest month of the year," said Tegan Murray, who with her sisters, Tara and Jannah, and parents, Don and Jean, ride unicycles, quadracycles and an Ingobike -- a kind of scooter -- in the parade. "What I like it takes place on St. Patrick's Day, so people who really want to, come. It's not a weekend afternoon, when people turn out because there's nothing else to do."

Finch credited former Mayor Leonard Paoletta with helping to start Bridgeport's St. Patrick's Day Parade tradition.

"I don't think anyone imagined it getting this big," Finch said. "From an economic development standpoint, this brings more people downtown than any other single event."

But such a day takes nearly a year of planning and $70,000 in fundraising, said Cotter. Schedules have to be checked, agreements signed.

"All the units get paid," Cotter said, "so we have to do a lot of fundraising."

That means golf tournaments, dinners, a program book and ad sales.

And about a month before the holiday, the committee begins forming a preliminary lineup of where each group will march.

"You want to separate the musical units with a float or marchers between," Cotter said. "Every year, we try to rotate the units so one's not always in front or in the rear."

And there's an occasional challenge on the parade days. Not too many years ago, snow covered the marchers.

"It was a shorter parade," Cotter said. "Several units didn't show. But we have never canceled."

Last year, the float carrying St. Joseph's High School's steel band caught a nail in a tire.

"The tire came off the rim and it stopped dead right over there," said Cotter, pointing to a section on Broad Street. "But the kids kept playing, to everyone's delight, as other units passed by."